1985-1989 Coin Market = 2000-2004 Comic Market?

[the blob]

on one hand the majority of collectors won`t pay $3 dollars for a raw generic bronze/copper comic book on Ebay but on the other hand they will pay hundreds to thousands of dollars for same era comic books with a 9.8 attached to it? so its either all(9.8) or nothing mentality

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take shipping costs out of the equation and I think you will have exponentially more collectors willing to pay the $3. problem is, from the sellers' perspective, they need to buy 5 or 6+ of them to make free shipping viable, and they might not want that unless you have a big inventory.

 

on an unrelated note, it always amazes me how some folks at shows will go through 10 long boxes of decent dollar or two dollar box inventory to only buy one or two books. they have either very specific collecting goals, go to a show with $10 in their pocket, or are psychotic or in some other way mentally ill. it absolutely maddens me trying to go long box diving behind one of these guys. i have run into the same fat smelly guy at a number of local shows and he gets very upset when i even glance at a box he's looking at. finally i told him to go away because he never buys anything and just damages the books. the dealer was grateful. he went away. i'm sure he's someone who tortures ebay sellers with nitpicky nonsense.

[the blob]

$1,$5 and $10 dollars comic books as long term investments because if after 30 to 50 years they are still now only worth $1,$5 and $10 dollars then in the next 30 to 50 years you can bet they will still be worth only $1,$5 and $10 dollars

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In the 90's there was a heck of a lot of really nice BA in those $1 boxes.

[mschmidt]

I like the Dave Stevens Alien Worlds # 4 cover even though its a super easy book to find and 9.8s are pretty easy for this book as well. Like you had mentioned, its one of those $ 5.00 books unslabbed and slabbed should not more than $ 30.00 even though you see guys trying to get $ 80 which is rediculous.

Last copy that was on ebay sold for $80. You may think it shouldn't cost more than $30, but the market doesn't agree with you.

 

Im starting to wonder about some of the ebay dealers with the ridiculous prices. Just to give an example: The thinking seems to be like this - "Lets see, I have a Rust 12, first appearence of Terminator, its 9.8. Ill take $ 250 but Ill accept offers of $ 195!!!". Ridiculous. Um, can I tell you , its a $ 7 book with no eye appeal and slabbed in 9.8 maybe worth $ 25.00 tops.

 

There are zero CGC 9.8 copies of Rust 12. If a CGC 9.8 copy hit the market, I can guarantee you it would sell for more than $25.

 

Sure, there are some sellers who do overprice their books to a great extent, and deserve to be ridiculed because of this. But buyers who keep insisting that a certain item should "only" be worth a certain amount, when the market clearly values the item higher, are no less wrong.

[paleontol99-migration]

It seems when 1 copy sells at a given price then dealers jump thinking its the NEW price. Alien Worlds # 4 is a SUPER easy book to pick up in 9.8. In raw its also SUPER easy. They are virtually found at almost any show and in high grade. Certain books just ARE and Ive been stockpiling them at $ 1.00 for about 5 years now. Ebay also has a good amount of them pretty much all the time at least at vf or better. The MARKET seems to be advanced by 1 or 2 newbies who dont know any better. The fact is, its not worth $ 80.00 period and if you buy it for $ 80, your gong to lose a good amount of money unless you sell it to someone who does not know any better.

The Rust 12 is a rarer book and harder to find in 9.8. Horrible cover by the way but it is what it is.

Good example: At militaria show, 7 guys have the same sword worth $ $ 250.00. One guy finds a sword exactly the same but knows little about so decides he is going to put his out at a show for $ 600.00 and it sits. It sits just long enough for other dealers to eventually see it and say. Oh, wow, my sword is worth $ 600.00. And within 3 months every guy who has the same sword now has it out on his own table with a price of $ 600.00. Do any of them sell. NO. They didnt sell at $ 250, why should they sell now at $ 600. And so they sit. One or two people buy Alien Worlds # 4 for $ 80.00. I cant see them as seasoned comic veterans simple cause that book can be easily found and at any time you can pick up the lot of 1,2,3,or 4 and within those lots many 9.8s can be found pretty easily. Rarely do ever even see a copy under vf or better. The only one of the group thats not easy is the 3D and less so the # 1. A couple of buyers at $ 80 do not make a Market. I would venture that they simply make an Anomaly

[fc]

seems to me most people here have lost money on collecting comics when you add up

all the money spent from day one to now. Talking about a crashing market is kind of silly

when the sheer majority are in the red. if you read comics for pleasure, like i did, boy did

i buy a metric ton of poo that is basically worthless today. It easily covers any winners

i did manage to sell over the years. As for "investment comics" I am pretty sure the majority

keeps track of expensive books we buy and do consider their value over the years. After

all if we just wanted to read the story we could buy a poor copy or just get the reprints.

 

just throwing that out there. crash or no crash i will never recover every dollar i have spent

on this hobby.. especially when you factor in inflation for a dollar spent in the 1980s compared

to what it buys today.

 

I rarely meet someone in this hobby who does not own 75% of stuff that is impossible to

resell for cover price. Perhaps strict golden age or silver age collectors who never buy anything

but do not fall into that category.. i suppose.

 

In the end though, i see the prices people are paying today for basically common comic

books in high grade to be poor value for the money spent. I expect them to take a loss

over the years as every hobby goes through cycles and eventually the pool of collectors

dwindle for the majority of material. There are always exceptions though!!!

[mschmidt]

It seems when 1 copy sells at a given price then dealers jump thinking its the NEW price. Alien Worlds # 4 is a SUPER easy book to pick up in 9.8. In raw its also SUPER easy. They are virtually found at almost any show and in high grade. Certain books just ARE and Ive been stockpiling them at $ 1.00 for about 5 years now. Ebay also has a good amount of them pretty much all the time at least at vf or better. The MARKET seems to be advanced by 1 or 2 newbies who dont know any better. The fact is, its not worth $ 80.00 period and if you buy it for $ 80, your gong to lose a good amount of money unless you sell it to someone who does not know any better.

 

Where exactly are you picking up these "SUPER easy" CGC 9.8 copies of this book? GPA shows exactly 6 copies sold in the last 3 years, there are zero copies on comiclink, and there's one measly copy on ebay (priced at $80)? :shrug:

 

It's an easy enough book to find in raw 8.5 - 9.4 - much like any other book from this era - but finding it in raw 9.8 is a different beast altogether. "VF or better" books on ebay are not 9.8's, and while I also manage to come across at least one copy of this book at every show I go to, none of those copies are ever 9.8.

[seanfingh]

It seems when 1 copy sells at a given price then dealers jump thinking its the NEW price. Alien Worlds # 4 is a SUPER easy book to pick up in 9.8. In raw its also SUPER easy. They are virtually found at almost any show and in high grade. Certain books just ARE and Ive been stockpiling them at $ 1.00 for about 5 years now. Ebay also has a good amount of them pretty much all the time at least at vf or better. The MARKET seems to be advanced by 1 or 2 newbies who dont know any better. The fact is, its not worth $ 80.00 period and if you buy it for $ 80, your gong to lose a good amount of money unless you sell it to someone who does not know any better.

 

Where exactly are you picking up these "SUPER easy" CGC 9.8 copies of this book? GPA shows exactly 6 copies sold in the last 3 years, there are zero copies on comiclink, and there's one measly copy on ebay (priced at $80)? :shrug:

 

It's an easy enough book to find in raw 8.5 - 9.4 - much like any other book from this era - but finding it in raw 9.8 is a different beast altogether. "VF or better" books on ebay are not 9.8's, and while I also manage to come across at least one copy of this book at every show I go to, none of those copies are ever 9.8.

 

This is a perfect example of copper comic cooties. 80's comics still have a huge stigma to them (much as Bronze books had until about 1995). Many collectors think they are terrible and they think that every copy out there is a 9.8 because people were bagging and boarding them.

 

While there are many many copies of most of these books in 8.0-9.4 many of them are quite a bit tougher in strict 9.6+ Also contrary to popular belief, there are some collectors that collect these books and care about them.

 

Not every 80s book in 9.8 is a $20 yawner. Many are, many aren't. Open your eyes folks, just as savvy buyers were buying high grade bronze from '88-94, now is a good time to scrounge up HG quality Copper.

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

It seems when 1 copy sells at a given price then dealers jump thinking its the NEW price. Alien Worlds # 4 is a SUPER easy book to pick up in 9.8. In raw its also SUPER easy. They are virtually found at almost any show and in high grade. Certain books just ARE and Ive been stockpiling them at $ 1.00 for about 5 years now. Ebay also has a good amount of them pretty much all the time at least at vf or better. The MARKET seems to be advanced by 1 or 2 newbies who dont know any better. The fact is, its not worth $ 80.00 period and if you buy it for $ 80, your gong to lose a good amount of money unless you sell it to someone who does not know any better.

 

Where exactly are you picking up these "SUPER easy" CGC 9.8 copies of this book? GPA shows exactly 6 copies sold in the last 3 years, there are zero copies on comiclink, and there's one measly copy on ebay (priced at $80)? :shrug:

 

It's an easy enough book to find in raw 8.5 - 9.4 - much like any other book from this era - but finding it in raw 9.8 is a different beast altogether. "VF or better" books on ebay are not 9.8's, and while I also manage to come across at least one copy of this book at every show I go to, none of those copies are ever 9.8.

 

This is a perfect example of copper comic cooties. 80's comics still have a huge stigma to them (much as Bronze books had until about 1995). Many collectors think they are terrible and they think that every copy out there is a 9.8 because people were bagging and boarding them.

 

While there are many many copies of most of these books in 8.0-9.4 many of them are quite a bit tougher in strict 9.6+ Also contrary to popular belief, there are some collectors that collect these books and care about them.

 

Not every 80s book in 9.8 is a $20 yawner. Many are, many aren't. Open your eyes folks, just as savvy buyers were buying high grade bronze from '88-94, now is a good time to scrounge up HG quality Copper.

 

Shhh....why rock the boat? Let everyone keep thinking Copper is .

[the blob]

Agreed, Alien Worlds 4 (and comics of that era) are pushing 30 years old. While there are no doubt plenty of nice copies out there, I don't think it is so easy to dredge up 9.8s en masse. In fact, I can easily see one spending $50-$80 on raw copies and pre-screen fees (and ultimate slabbing costs) per 9.8 (and being left over with a bunch of raw 9.4s and 9.8s) unless you have nik [R.I.P.]-like slab predicting abilities.

[the blob]

I would have never considered doing it in the past, but even I find myself buying really nice looking 50-60cent cover price books from the 80s (pre-'85 let's say) when I see them in dollar and less boxes, even of titles outside the obvious (like spidey, x-men, batman, detective)

[tth2]

$1,$5 and $10 dollars comic books as long term investments because if after 30 to 50 years they are still now only worth $1,$5 and $10 dollars then in the next 30 to 50 years you can bet they will still be worth only $1,$5 and $10 dollars

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In the 90's there was a heck of a lot of really nice BA in those $1 boxes.

The BA keys had already started to move up in the early 90s, but everything else definitely continued to languish. The only thing that caused "everything else" to skyrocket a decade later was CGC.

 

[shadroch]

I recently bought a boatload of Copper Age 9.8s at the Vegas liquidation. I was planning on cracking them open just to use the slabs, but perhaps I'll offer them up for sale. Many of them are the only 9.8s in the census. Some of them are the only copies that were slabbed. Period. Anyone interested in some Echo of Future Past 9.8s? How about some Scouts? Micronauts?

[Snake Eyes]

May as well list before you crack the slabs...might get a good chunk of your investment back (thumbs u

[the blob]

$1,$5 and $10 dollars comic books as long term investments because if after 30 to 50 years they are still now only worth $1,$5 and $10 dollars then in the next 30 to 50 years you can bet they will still be worth only $1,$5 and $10 dollars

--------

In the 90's there was a heck of a lot of really nice BA in those $1 boxes.

The BA keys had already started to move up in the early 90s, but everything else definitely continued to languish. The only thing that caused "everything else" to skyrocket a decade later was CGC.

 

You're talking about the big keys. But the minor keys like Spotlight 32 (Spiderwoman), Ms. Marvel 18 (and the earlier Mystique cameos) and a host of other stuff like that (especially characters that did not get their own series in the 90's), which guide nowadays in the $25-$75 range was still out there on the cheap. And A LOT of DC in nice shape was in those boxes. 9.8s (or even 9.6ses)? probably a needle in the haystack scenario, but not so much because dealers were pulling the bestest of the bestest of their copies, more so because stuff gets banged up over time after 12-24 shows a year, even if bagged and boarded. sure, I'm not talking about anything particularly expensive.

[the blob]

I recently bought a boatload of Copper Age 9.8s at the Vegas liquidation. I was planning on cracking them open just to use the slabs, but perhaps I'll offer them up for sale. Many of them are the only 9.8s in the census. Some of them are the only copies that were slabbed. Period. Anyone interested in some Echo of Future Past 9.8s? How about some Scouts? Micronauts?

 

were you going to build a house out of the slabs or something?

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

I recently bought a boatload of Copper Age 9.8s at the Vegas liquidation. I was planning on cracking them open just to use the slabs, but perhaps I'll offer them up for sale. Many of them are the only 9.8s in the census. Some of them are the only copies that were slabbed. Period. Anyone interested in some Echo of Future Past 9.8s? How about some Scouts? Micronauts?

 

were you going to build a house out of the slabs or something?

 

Yeah, no kidding, what the heck were you going to use the cracked slabs for?

 

Seriously, list them in the Marketplace. Even if you "blow them out" at $10-$25 each, you'll probably find some buyers.

[ComicConnoisseur]

$1,$5 and $10 dollars comic books as long term investments because if after 30 to 50 years they are still now only worth $1,$5 and $10 dollars then in the next 30 to 50 years you can bet they will still be worth only $1,$5 and $10 dollars

--------

In the 90's there was a heck of a lot of really nice BA in those $1 boxes.

The BA keys had already started to move up in the early 90s, but everything else definitely continued to languish. The only thing that caused "everything else" to skyrocket a decade later was CGC.

exactly,even now you can buy loads of raw mid-grade bronze age on the cheap, The only mainstream copper age stuff that will have any value would be key slabbed 9.8`s at best,the majority of the other stuff is dollar stuff at best and I am being kind at a dollar because if you can find a retailor who will give you a dollar a piece for your late 1980`s and early 1990`s raw mainstream comics let me know.

[3319comics]

Will anything from the 1995-2005 era be stable or considered collectible? Or is something like NM 98 just the new thing that will drop back to nothing in GPA?

[mschmidt]

$1,$5 and $10 dollars comic books as long term investments because if after 30 to 50 years they are still now only worth $1,$5 and $10 dollars then in the next 30 to 50 years you can bet they will still be worth only $1,$5 and $10 dollars

--------

In the 90's there was a heck of a lot of really nice BA in those $1 boxes.

The BA keys had already started to move up in the early 90s, but everything else definitely continued to languish. The only thing that caused "everything else" to skyrocket a decade later was CGC.

exactly,even now you can buy loads of raw mid-grade bronze age on the cheap, The only mainstream copper age stuff that will have any value would be key slabbed 9.8`s at best,the majority of the other stuff is dollar stuff at best and I am being kind at a dollar because if you can find a retailor who will give you a dollar a piece for your late 1980`s and early 1990`s raw mainstream comics let me know.

 

You're confusing the late 1980s with the mid 1990s. The late 1980s had Claremont on the X-Men, McFarlane doing ASM & Hulk, Sandman, Hellblazer, Animal Man, Batman Year One, etc, etc.

[shadroch]

I recently bought a boatload of Copper Age 9.8s at the Vegas liquidation. I was planning on cracking them open just to use the slabs, but perhaps I'll offer them up for sale. Many of them are the only 9.8s in the census. Some of them are the only copies that were slabbed. Period. Anyone interested in some Echo of Future Past 9.8s? How about some Scouts? Micronauts?

 

were you going to build a house out of the slabs or something?

 

Yeah, no kidding, what the heck were you going to use the cracked slabs for?

 

Seriously, list them in the Marketplace. Even if you "blow them out" at $10-$25 each, you'll probably find some buyers.

 

I buy cheap slabs on CL for a few bucks, crack them and use them to display my non-slabbed SA books, mostly Spideys but a few others. In the liquidation auction, I got books like Scout 14, Astro Boy 6, Micronauts 1 and 19,Echos of Future Past, Mangaverse, Airboy and such- almost all 9.8s for about $2 each.

Sblabs can easily be opened, then reused, and can be picked up for way less than the price of a fortress, while offering similar display characteristics.